After more than 25 years as an active school librarian, I thought I knew what made a library work. Now, as a school library consultant, standing outside libraries and looking at them with a different lens has changed the way I see the space. I now notice things I once took for granted.
During one school library assessment, I noticed something immediately: There was almost no signage. The library had books. It had shelves. It had students using the space. But there were very few signs telling students—and adults—how to navigate the library.
Questions I now ask:
Where does a student look when they walk in?
Can they immediately understand how the library is organised?
Can they find a book independently?
Does the space communicate that books are important?
The first change the school librarian made was to create signage and label the shelves. Now, the library suddenly looked brighter, more organised, and more intentional. Adults and children visiting the library started commenting, and the library felt more welcoming.
The books hadn’t changed. The walls hadn’t changed. The budget hadn’t dramatically changed.
Remember - The way the space communicated had changed - A library speaks before the librarian does. Signage is not decoration. We often think of signage as something functional: FICTION - NON-FICTION - REFERENCE
But good library signage can do much more. It can help children navigate independently.
It can invite browsing. It can create curiosity. It can communicate that the library is a place for discovery.
For example:
Looking for a mystery? Start here.
Want to travel without leaving the library? Check out the Geography section
Books about animals, nature and our planet.
What are you curious about today?
Not sure what to read? Ask me.
And yes, you can make these beautiful. With tools such as Canva, even a librarian with no graphic-design background can create clean, attractive, and consistent signage.
But don’t let the design become more important than the purpose. Clear beats clever.
One mistake I often see is putting up large signs for different sections and stopping there.
Think about the student standing in front of a shelf. Can they tell what is there? Consider adding simple shelf-level signage:
Adventure
Humour
Friendship
Animals
Indian Stories
Graphic Novels
Poetry
Science
Biography
You can also create temporary signs:
New Arrivals
Librarian’s Picks
Students Recommend
Books You Can Finish This Week
If You Liked This… Try This
These small interventions make the collection easier to enter. And that matters because choice is part of reading motivation.
This is another lesson I have learnt through consultancy work. Schools sometimes think that creating a reading culture requires a complete library makeover.
New furniture, bean bags, designer interiors, expensive displays. Yes, that’s lovely, but you can certainly create cozy reading corners, if you have little OR NO budget.
Some ideas
Move two chairs beside a shelf.
Put a small basket of books near the entrance.
Turn a table into a Book Discovery Table.
Display books face-out.
Use student recommendations.
Create a reading corner beside a window.
Put a handwritten note beside a book: “I couldn’t put this one down.”
A reading space doesn’t have to be Instagram-worthy. It has to be inviting enough for a child to stop, look, and pick up a book.
When you are asking your school for money, don’t present a list of things you want to buy.
Present the purpose (Creating a reading culture) behind the expenditure. Some examples here:
Instead of: “We need ₹5,000 for signage.” Say: “Clear signage will help students independently navigate the collection and discover books without always depending on an adult.”
Instead of: “We need new display materials.” Say: “A book-display system will increase the visibility of the collection and make it easier for students to pick up books they might otherwise overlook.”
Instead of: “We need comfortable seating.” Say: “We want to create a defined space where students can choose to sit and read for sustained periods.”
Your budget should answer three questions:
What are we spending on?
Why does it matter for students?
What change do we expect to see?
The strongest library budgets are not shopping lists. They are arguments for learning.
Beautiful signage will not create a reading culture by itself. Furniture won’t. Displays won’t. Books won’t even do it on their own. The librarian remains the most important part of the environment. After years of working with librarians, one thing I have become increasingly convinced about is this:
You don’t have to read hundreds of books. But you need to read enough to be able to say:
“I read this recently, and I think you might enjoy it.”
“I haven’t read this one yet. What did you like about it?”
“What are you looking for today?”
They are invitations into a reading conversation.
Instead of: “Did you like the book?” Say, “What moved you? What made you think? What questions do you still have?
Instead of: “What is the book about?” Say, “What made you choose this one?”
Instead of: “You should read this.” Say, “What kind of book are you looking for?”
It’s OK for a Librarian to say, “I haven’t read this one. Tell me about it.”
That last sentence is particularly powerful. It gives the student the role of expert and encourages reluctant readers.
If your library has a limited budget. Maybe you can start with one shelf. One sign. One display. One reading corner. One student recommendation. One conversation. One librarian reading a book where students can see.
These changes may appear small, but reading culture is built through hundreds of small signals that tell children: Books matter here. Your curiosity matters here. Reading belongs here. Wisdom grows slowly.
Walk into your library as if you were a child visiting it for the first time. Look around. Ask your students for recommendations and ideas. See what you would like your child to see and have in the library.
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